Hiking - Hiking Sage Mountain

The highest viewpoint in the VI's is in the National park on Tortola, BVI

by Debbie Hime

Ah, beauty surrounds us on St. John!  Every overlook offers either sweeping views of the pristine Caribbean Sea or other remarkably beautiful Virgin Islands. Inasmuch as I love to hike here on St. John,  as I see these beautiful views, I think of hikes on these other islands and immediately think of one of the most beautiful - Tortola’s Sage Mountain National Park.

Sage Mountain is part of the BVI National Parks Trust, http://www.bvinationalparkstrust.org/toparks.html, and is the highest point in all of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.  The original forests from hundreds of years ago still exist, because the numerous and large boulders impeded a farmer’s ability to clear the land for planting.  But be assured there is no difficult rock scrambling or tough climbing up here; the trails are easily visible and the roots and smaller rocks make for natural steps along the much of the way. 

Sage Mountain just misses being a true rainforest by a few inches, both in elevation and in average rainfall.  Most of the Park is above 1000 feet, with its highest elevation at 1740 feet, (almost 500 feet higher than Bordeaux Mountain here on STJ, at 1277'). It rains as much as 80” a year, while the rest of Tortola only receives an average of around 55”.

It is worth taking the time to do all of the (very shady!) trails atop Sage Mountain.  If you take your time to stop and feel the historical and botanical beauty of the area,  it will usually take about 2.5 – 3 hours in the 29+ acre Park. 

The trails’ intersections are marked, but with so many junctures, a copy of a Sage Mountains map is assuring to have on hand.  There is a sign at the trailhead with a good map, and I have taken a photo of this map so it can be posted on the Sun Times website (stjohnsuntimes.com) when this article is published online for your hiking pleasure and encouragement.

One trail leads past a huge ficus tree, which is so big (old!) that you can crawl through some of its root structure.  Larger-than-life vines, trees, plants, and fungi flourish here.  This is the area that Bomba (if you ask him his last name, he says “Shack”) gets his main ingredient for his famous Bomba Shack Full Moon Tea Parties. But I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip to Sage Mountain just to cultivate them , as they are hard to find and I am told that the “good kind” many times look much like “bad kind.” Plus, getting caught by Bomba pilfering his stash could lead to some really bad Caribbean juju in the future. Just kidding! (I think.)

Directional driving signs along most of Tortola’s high roads show the way to Sage Mountain, and there is ample parking at the trailhead. Plus, there is a cute little bar and souvenir shop in the parking lot, which offers worthy hikers a celebratory place to reminisce about the adventure over cold drinks or libations.

So, next time you are visiting another island, I hope you will consider finding the beauty of hiking there as well!

Debbie Hime has lived in the Caribbean off and on since '89 (on St. John for eight years) and is an avid “fair weather” hiker and trail runner. Contact her at debbie@savantmediagroup.com